Admittedly, I'm not working on Christmas this year. I will be with my family enjoying morning cinnamon rolls and eating beef tenderloin for dinner. Mmmm..... But, I have celebrated many a holiday within the walls of an urgent care clinic or the emergency department. Working on holidays, especially the biggies, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, is a pretty big drag. Who wants to celebrate Christmas Eve with an early morning hospital shift hanging over their head?

When I cover the night shift in the emergency department, typically there are a few minutes of downtime around 4am. The evening rush has subsided and the morning craziness yet to begin. Rather than sitting at my desk, perusing Facebook while trying desperately not to fall asleep on the job, during my next shift I plan to tackle a DIY medical decor project - the urinal Christmas wreath. I encourage you to do the same. Need some inspiration? Check out the following photos then hit up the supply closet!

Layer up this holiday season with a giveaway from Medelita Scrubs & Lab Coats!

Layers are a nurse practitioner's best friend, especially in winter. When you’re bouncing between shifts at the hospital, holiday shopping, and spending time with friends and family, you need to be able to transition easily out of work mode and into off-duty nurse mode.

Baby, it's cold outside! This time of year, not only do I prepare for the holidays, I also start feeling the need to get a winter getaway on the books. Cold weather creeps in making a beach vacay sound increasingly appealing. A constant stream of relatives visiting makes me crave the peace of a getaway. Not to mention, I've got to get something penciled in on the calendar to look forward to in 2018, right?!

As I neared graduation from my nurse practitioner program, I longed for an adventure. A packed graduate school schedule and limited student budget had effectively squashed hopes of an exotic vacation during NP school, so I looked for ways to get out of town while launching my nurse practitioner career.

Whether you love them or hate them, chances are you have a least one obligatory company Christmas party to attend this month. Regardless of if you're a nurse practitioner who turns into the Grinch or Buddy the Elf this time of year, mix and mingling with coworkers outside of the break room can be a fun way to boost clinic morale; but throw a white elephant gift exchange into the mix and you’ve got yourself one heck of an office party!

Interviewing for a nurse practitioner position has evolved tremendously over the last couple of years. Nowadays it’s become more common for employers to conduct video interviews over platforms like Skype and Google Hangouts. It’s also not out of the ordinary for NPs to be asked by hiring managers to provide a link to their professional profiles on sites like LinkedIn. Yet while some things change, others stay the same.

Somewhere in between in the hustle and bustle of buying presents for our children, our nieces and nephews, and a $20 gift for our secret Santa at work, our spouse’s gift tends to get pushed to the bottom of our shopping list. Perhaps it’s because unlike children, adults have the luxury of being able to buy something they really want or need any time of year; making them harder to buy for and easier to neglect on the gift-giving totem pole. What thoughtful and practical gift should you get for your nurse practitioner spouse?

A nurse practitioner recently emailed me asking how to "diversify or advance [herself] professionally and not necessarily by becoming a DNP". This is a question a lot of us as nurse practitioners are asking. Our time in the clinic or hospital seeing patients becomes routine and we're ready to mix things up a bit. But, we don't necessarily want to go back to school. The DNP doesn't seem like it will necessarily lead to the professional change we're looking for.

Being under investigation by the board of nursing is a stressful situation for any nurse practitioner to be in, even if the claim is unsubstantiated and is likely to be dismissed. Unfortunately, the BONs claims resolution process can take months, leaving you with plenty of time to mull over your next steps in response to the notice of investigation. Having a good understanding the legal side of investigations can be beneficial in easing your worries; still, troublesome thoughts and questions may consume you while in limbo. So just how should you respond when you’re under investigation by the BON?

As a nurse practitioner, you’re probably all too familiar with your state’s Board of Nursing. As a requirement to practice, you took the NCLEX and went through the extensive process of obtaining your RN and/or APRN license before beginning in your nursing practice. If you’re an experienced provider, you know all too well what a hassle it can be to renew your license too. Suffice it to say that dealing with the board of nursing can be a little bit of a nuisance at times.

Do you have a 'difficult' boss? As a nurse practitioner I've had bosses that are harsh, bosses that give little direction, bosses that are unfair and bosses that are simply amazing. It's almost inevitable that working as an NP you'll have supervisors of all demeanors and managerial skill levels. Some you'll get along with swimmingly, others you won't and most will fall somewhere in between. What do you do when you have conflict with your boss, or just plain don't get along?